Author: Shona Knight

Series: Shattered Silence Duet

First Published: 01 February 2025

“She’s here, she’s safe, and she’s ours. Even if she doesn’t know it yet.”

For the past 11 years, Mina has remained silent for fear of her mother’s constant abuse. But when she’s suddenly let out of the locked basement to attend high school, a whole new set of fears threatens to suffocate her.

Stepping into the outside world is terrifying. The fear of speaking, of having a panic attack, of standing out in any way, looms over her. Yet, the unexpected kindness of certain male students and teachers leaves her confused and wary and wishing she could speak.

Why are they constantly by her side? What happens when they find out she’s not 17, but 21? And why was she feeling desire for the first time in her life, and not to just one person, but 7?

Oh my god! Why did the book end there? I have so many questions. I am praying to all the gods that the guys get there in time! Silent Desires is the first book of a dark, why choose romance duet – emphasis on dark. Please be kind to yourself and check the triggers! But it’s a dark romance with Criminal Minds vibes, which is something I am always in the mood for.

Mina has spent the last 11 years trapped in the basement, subject to her mother’s abuse. Since her father left when she was young, she has felt trapped and lost hope of ever escaping. She lost her will to fight years ago. Suddenly, her mother enrolls her in the local high school, claiming Mina is 17 years old and has suffered a severe accident resulting in brain damage. Although this claim is false, her mother threatened Mina if seeks help. Mina finally experiences the outside world and it is more terrifying than she thought. She doesn’t know who to trust. In the back of her mind, Mina’s worried this is all part of her mother’s plan to finally break her. Can she trust the kindness of her new friends, Max and Jasper? Will her teachers, Mr. Hargrove and Coach Stone, help her as they slowly coax her out of her shell?

Poor Mina! She’s in a permanent state of terror. The last time she experienced kindness was years ago when her father was still around. As I mentioned, this is dark. We see some of the abuse Mina goes through. You feel her constant fear and anxiety that her newfound freedom will be ripped from her at any moment. Mina is mute and hasn’t spoken since she fought back and was severely punished. Her mother poured bleach down her throat to get her to be silent, so she has not spoken since. We gradually witness Mina’s sense of hope beginning to flourish. She believes that maybe there will be an end to her suffering. I loved seeing her confidence grow as Max and Jasper – in particular – showered her with kindness. They do their best to support her while respecting her boundaries. Now that she finally gets the opportunity to attend school, I love her curiosity and eagerness to learn while maintaining her mother’s ruse.

Romance is minor here, which fits what’s happening with Mina and where mentally and emotionally. She is terrified of her mother’s abuse and knows that one wrong move could mean her demise. She is a little suspicious of the guys’ intentions since all she’s ever known is violence. This duet is a why choose romance. I assume we will see more of the romance in the second book. There are seven guys in this why choose, which at first was a little overwhelming. However, Shona Knight has done a fantastic job of gradually introducing each character. They all feel like individual people, which is so hard to do in less than 400 pages. Jasper, Max, Mr. Gideon Hargrove and Coach Tucker Stone are the guys we get the most page time with. I am fully in love with the twins, Jasper and Max. I can’t wait to see how their romance develops, especially after that ending!

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Seriously, I flew through this in hours. I needed Mina to escape her mother. This book has those Criminal Minds vibes. It’s like we are in those scenes where the victim is trapped with the unsub. And on top of this, a serial killer is roaming around, attacking high school girls who look like Mina. Like this poor girl needs more to worry about. Most of the story is from Mina’s perspective, but we get some chapters from the guys’ point of view. In those chapters, I get the sense there is more to them than what Mina knows, and everything is connected. I am dying to see how this unfolds.

Basically, I am locked in. I cannot wait to see Mina’s HEA. Also, I need to figure out this mystery of how Mina’s life is tied to this serial killer. Safe to say, I am picking up the sequel, Silent Betrayal, right away. If you enjoyed Killer of Mine by Alexis Grace or the Sabre Security series by J. Rose and are looking for books with those vibes, I highly recommend you pick up Silent Desires. You’ll love it!